Human remains have been found among the debris left by the US space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated just minutes before its scheduled landing.

All seven astronauts on board were killed when the craft broke up after re-entering the Earth's atmosphere on Saturday.

A piece of foam hit the shuttle's left wing shortly after lift-off

Two technical inquiries are opening into the disaster - the American space agency Nasa will conduct an investigation, and so will an independent board.

US President George W Bush led the mourning for the crew, killed almost exactly 17 years after the Challenger shuttle exploded on lift-off.

Shock and grief has been expressed around the world - not just in the US but in India, where one of the crew was born, and in Israel, which had hoped to celebrate the return of the first Israeli astronaut.